The Mayans originated in a district called MESOAMERICA, or Fundamental America. This district lies in in the company of Mexico and South America and was home to diverse other cultures, together with the Aztec, Olmec, Teotihuacan and Toltec. The Mayans lived in what are today Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador and Southern Mexico (Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo Tabasco and Chiapas).
Mayan history -is injured concerning three periods:
* Decisive or Pre-classic - 2000 B.C. until A.D. 300
* Original - 300 until 900
* Post-classic - 900 until the Spanish Investigation in the 1400s
-Mesoamericans began journalism in the sphere of the mid-Pre-classic time. The Mayans were the foundational to award any generate of gone big screen, and the immaturity of the calendar were uneducated. The Mayans hand-me-down STELAE, or stone monuments, to slash their public accomplishments, calendars and astronomy knowledge. They anyway celebrated their religious beliefs and mythology on pottery.
The Mayans positioned magnificent particular in soundtrack their blue-collar history. Stretch they weren't the foundational mores to ever use a calendar, they did cook up four fork calendars that lasted for particularized time periods. Depending on their wishes, the Mayans hand-me-down new-found calendars or some combination of two calendars to big screen each sprint. Their Desire Era calendar, which we'll learn about in expert obey cutting edge, expires in 2012, leading some to conjecture that it coincides with an apocalyptic sprint.
But in order to translate these new-found calendars, you'll foundational penury a leading lesson in Mayan arithmetic.
MAYAN Turf out AND Arithmetic
Out of order with their calendars -- the Tzolk'in, the Haab and the Desire Era -- the Mayans anyway fashioned their own arithmetic hypothesis. They hand-me-down a series of dots and bars to gesture information. One dot equaled one unit, the same as one bar equaled five units. A top symbol signified code.
In a hypothesis harmonizing to the one we use now, the Mayans hand-me-down place principles to championship excellent information. Tranquil, the similarities in the company of arithmetic systems end award.
Mayans' place principles are square, although ours are lying face down. For container, we cut the list 27 horizontally -- the list two, with the list seven to the designate of it. The Mayans, yet, would cut 27 vertical-ly -- their symbol for seven (a line indicative of five units with two dots planed it) would be on the story, and the symbol for 20 (a dot on the line manager) would be openly planed it. The dreadfully applies for other information, having the status of 29.
Turf out thought magnificent meaning in the Mayan culture. For manifestation, the list 20 signifies the list of digits a human being has -- 10 fingers and 10 toes. The list 13 refers to the main joints in the possible trap everyplace it's held growth and downfall come and attack: one neck, two shoulders, two elbows, two wrists, two hips, two segment and two ankles [source: Garcia]. The list 13 anyway represented the levels of heaven everyplace sacred lords ruled the Put in at [source: Tzolk'in Manual].
It's these two information, 20 and 13, that are hand-me-down to make up the Tzolk'in calendar, the foundational calendar hand-me-down by the Mayans.
THE TZOLK'IN Manual
As good as diverse Mesoamerican calendars, the TZOLK'IN, or Sanctified Section, calendar operated on a 260-day push. One inference for the meaning of its push array is that the 260 days frequent to pregnancy [source: Maya Inscrutability School]. Sundry proposes that the calendar represented the array of time to be apt bump. Tranquil, it's expert answerable that it was based on the Mayans' mark of respect for the information 13 and 20.
In the Gregorian calendar, we lunch seven days of the week and, depending on the month, someplace from 28 to 31 days. The Tzolk'in calendar is complete up of a set of 20 day names, symbolized by images called GLYPHS, and 13 numerals called TONES. The days are numbered one order 13, and the names are anyway truth in demand.
The beginning of the Tzolk'in calendar begins with the foundational day name, Imix', and the list one. The days control in demand, with the second day to the same extent a combination of Ik' and the list two; the day names and information mingle in demand until all 13 tones are hand-me-down.
What time the calendar reaches the day 13, denoted by B'en and the list 13, the information begin once again with one, but the day names move send with the 14th glyph, Ix. By turning having the status of this, the two sets form 260 distinct combinations of a day name and a list. For container, behind you take in the end of the push of day names with 7 Ajaw, the day names begin once again at Imix, and the numerals continue: 8 Imix', 9 Ik', 10 Ak'b'al and so on.
Breakthrough of two interlocking apparatus, with the 13 numerals spaced all but a less significant cycle beat that fits of laughter now of the great beat of day names denoted in hieroglyphics. If you lock family apparatus together at the list one and the day name Imix', with circle the apparatus until you take in one and Imix' once again, you'll get 260 distinct days. Those apparatus excursion until the firm combination clicks concerning place at 13 Ajaw, marking the end of the rendezvous.
It's easy to see the meaning the Mayans put in the Tzolk'in calendar. For manifestation, they held that the come together of your sunup determines the personality you'll presentation in your nature -- far-off having the status of some humanity conjecture your astrological sign does today.
Devout men anyway index self-assured accomplishments all over the place the rendezvous based on the Tzolk'in calendar. At the beginning of each UINAL (time of 20 days), a shaman would problem send to discover seeing that religious and ceremonial accomplishments would accept. He would with usher the dates that would be the highest wealthy or luckiest for the community.
In spite of its unspeakable functions, the Tzolk'in calendar tranquil couldn't price a Excessive Year, the time it takes for the sun to make a wholly push. In the function of of this, the Mayans attractive a expert inflexible calendar to search for the array of time that we regard as a full rendezvous.
THE HAAB Manual AND THE Manual Section
The HAAB Manual is very harmonizing to the Gregorian calendar that we use today. It's based on the push of the sun and was hand-me-down for rural, economic and accounting endeavors. A lot having the status of the Tzolk'in calendar, it's anyway comprised of uinals (periods of 20 days), and each day has its own primitive writing and list. Tranquil, fairly of using 13 uinals for 260 days, the Haab calendar has 18 uinals, goodhearted it 360 days.
Mayan astronomers noticed that 360 days wasn't a lot time for the sun to make it order a full stellar push. They argued that the calendar requisite stalk the push as the moment as probable for legitimacy. But Mayan mathematicians disagreed. They long-awaited to award fill simple, in increments of 20, maxim having the status of their arithmetic hypothesis. The astronomers and mathematicians fully customary on the 18 uinals, with five "anonymous days" called the WAYEB [source: The Maya Manual].
The wayeb, or uayeb, is premeditated one "month" of five days consideration to be a very impulsive time. The Mayans held the gods rested in the sphere of that time, vacant the Put in at unshielded. The Mayans performed ceremonies and rituals in the sphere of the wayeb, eager that the gods would return behind once again [source: The Mayan Manual Veranda].
Stretch this calendar was longer than the Tzolk'in, the Mayans long-awaited to institute a calendar that would big screen even expert time. For this project, the Tzolk'in and Haab calendars were concentrated to form the Manual Section.
In the Manual Section, the 260 days of the Tzolk'in calendar are paired with the 360 days and five anonymous days of the Haab calendar. The two calendars are in time the dreadfully way the Tzolk'in day names and information are (see the cartoon of the Tzolk'in calendar on the former page). This gives the Manual Section 18,890 distinct days, a time time of all but 52 years.
At the time, the Manual Section was the top calendar in Mesoamerica. Acquaint with historians, yet, wished to big screen Mayan history for generations to come. To realize that, they attractive a calendar that would pick them order hundreds, even thousands, of years.
THE Desire Era Manual
The Mayans certain the Desire Era Manual to criminal rudely 5,125.36 years, a time time they referred to as the Highly-flavored Manage [source: Jenkins]. The Desire Era calendar is branched concerning five distinct units:
* one day - kin
* 20 days - uinal
* 360 days - tun
* 7,200 days - katun
* 144,000 days - baktun
To find the Lon-g Era come together that corresponds with any Gregorian come together, you'll penury to problem the days from the beginning of the criminal Highly-flavored Manage. But shaping seeing that the criminal push began and friendly that up to a Gregorian come together is equitably a implementation.
English anthropologist Sir Eric Thompson looked to the Spanish Investigation to plan the Mayan-to-Gregorian come together transformation, comfortable as the THOMPSON Link. Endeavors that occurred in the sphere of the Investigation were recorded on all the Mayan Desire Era calendar and the Gregorian calendar. Scholars with gathered dates that in time on all calendars and compared them to the DRESDEN CODEX, one of four Mayan store that survived the Investigation. This codex certain the come together long consideration by Thompson to be the beginning of the current Highly-flavored Manage -- Aug. 13, 3114 B.C. [source: Mayan Desire Era].
Now that we lunch the beginning come together of the Highly-flavored Manage, let's put the Desire Era concerning practice. We'll pick a come together that's careful to diverse Americans: July 20, 1969, the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon. In the Desire Era calendar, this come together is on paper as 12.17.15.17.0. You'll revelation award are five list places in the come together. Report from no more to designate, the foundational place signifies the list of baktuns in the role of the beginning of the Highly-flavored Manage. In this shell, award lunch been 12 baktuns, or 1,728,000 days (144,000 x 12) in the role of Aug. 13, 3114 B.C. The second place relates to the list of katuns that lunch besotted place. Consequently, it continues on to the designate with the list of tuns, uinals and kins.
In after everyone else years, as the verdict of the Desire Era calendar approaches on Dec. 12, 2012, doomsday theorists lunch predicted the crucial. That Gregorian come together is denoted as 13.0.0.0.0 on the Desire Era, signaling the end of the current Highly-flavored Manage.
Tranquil, Mayan scholars and inhabit enthuse the apocalyptic theories, noting that end of the calendar would be regarded as a time of celebration, far-off having the status of modern-day New Year revelry [source: Stevenson]. Offer are anyway no Mayan inscriptions or writings that mull it over the end of the world seeing that the Highly-flavored Manage concludes [source: MacDonald].
The highest noble sprint slated for that 2012 winter solstice will flow in the sky. For the foundational time in all but 25,800 years, the sun will conventional with the multipart of the Cream Way galaxy [source: Stevenson]. Nevertheless the sprint sounds windfall, astronomers redress that it won't lunch any effect on the Put in at. And with that, the contiguous Highly-flavored Manage will unremarkably begin once again.
